Introduction to the Kitab-i-Aqdas

About the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Shoghi Effendi has written that it “may well be regarded as the brightest emanation of the mind of Baha'u'llah, as the Mother Book of His Dispensation, and the Charter of His New World Order.” He further refers to the Kitab-i-Aqdas as “the principal repository of that Law which the Prophet Isaiah had anticipated, and which the writer of the Apocalypse had described as the ‘new heaven’ and the ‘new earth,’ as ‘the Tabernacle of God,’ as the ‘Holy City,’ as the ‘Bride,’ the ‘New Jerusalem coming down from God,’ this ‘Most Holy Book,’ whose provisions must remain inviolate for no less than a thousand years, and whose system will embrace the entire planet. . . .” We will read the Kitab-i-Aqdas and supplemental texts related to it, while studying several of its main themes: covenant, succession, and manifestation; Baha’i institutions, including the rulers and the learned, the Universal House of Justice, Houses of Worship, Feasts, Holy Days, and the Baha’i calendar; the nature and purpose of Baha’u’llah’s laws; Baha’u’llah’s ordinances; prohibitions and punishments; Baha’u’llah’s proclamations to kings, rulers, places, and groups of people; education and transformation; and teaching the Baha’i Faith.

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You may join our online learning community either as an individual or as part of a study group (2 to 20 people). In either case, you can do all your work at home at any time of the day or night. We assign mentors to individuals and to groups to advise, encourage, assist, and answer questions. Groups are expected to meet every week or two for group discussions. Web-based forums connect all learners--individuals and members of a group--to the insights and perspectives of fellow students from all over the world.

To form a group, ask some friends whether they'd like to take the course with you. If at least one other agrees, go into the registration system, establish a group, and pay for it. Then email the confirmation number and its web link to the others, so they can click through and add themselves to the group. One person (or a Spiritual Assembly) pays for the group; the group members reimburse the payee based on whatever arrangement the group devises.

Discounts are available for early registration and for senior citizens (age 65+), students, and pioneers. If you need a financial aid discount, write us at wi@usbnc.org. Plenty are available. Registration is limited to 40 people, so sign up today.